Taichi Nakamura (shogi)

Taichi Nakamura was born in Fuchū, Tokyo on June 1, 1988.^[3] As a young boy, his family moved a lot due to his father's work.^[4] He learned how to play shogi as a four-year-old while living in Sapporo, Hokkaido, but first became interested in becoming a professional shogi player after hearing the news of Yoshiharu Habu becoming the first "7-crown" in professional shogi history.^[4][5] After Nakamura's family moved back to Tokyo when he was a second-grade elementary school student,^[4] he started practicing shogi at the well-known Hachioji Shogi Club where Habu also studied as a young boy.^[5]

In 2000, Nakamura advanced to the championship game of the 25th Elementary School Student Meijin Tournament [ja], but finished runner-up after losing to fellow future shogi professional Ryūma Tonari.^[5][6] In September of that same year, Nakamura was accepted in the Japan Shogi Association's apprentice school at the rank of 6-kyū under the tutelage of shogi professional Kunio Yonenaga.^[5]

In April 2006, Nakamura was officially awarded professional status in April 2006 for finishing second in the 38th 3-dan league with a record of 13 wins and 5 losses.^[5][7][8] Nakamura was still a 12th grade senior high school student at Waseda Jitsugyō High School [ja] (an affiliate school of Waseda University) at the time.^[5]

After graduating from high school in March 2007, Nakamura enrolled in Waseda University's School of Political Science and Economics to continue his education in addition to being a shogi professional.^[5][9][10] In March 2010, Nakamura wrote a thesis about political parties and unaffiliated voters in Japan which won him a scholarship from the School of Political Science and Economics.^[11] Nakamura graduated from Waseda in 2011.^[9]

When Nakamura faced Akihito Hirose in the championship match of the 40th Shinjin-Ō tournament in 2009,^[5] the match was billed as the "Battle of Waseda University Students" because the two were attending Waseda University at the time.^[12] Nakamura lost the match 2 games to none.^[13]

Nakamura's first appearance in a major title match came in 2012 when he challenged Yoshiharu Habu for the 83rd Kisei title. Nakamura lost the match 3 games to none.^[14] In 2013, Nakamura defeated Masataka Gōda in the final of the challenger tournament of the 61st Ōza tournament to earn the right to challenge Habu for the title.^[15] Nakamura was leading the match 2 games to 1 after three games, but Habu was able to defend his title by winning the last two games.^[16]

In 2017, Nakamura advance to the 65th Ōza title match to once again challenge Habu for a major title. As in 2013, Nakamura was leading the match 2 games to 1, but this time won Game 4 to win the match 3 games to 1 and also capture his first major title.^[17] Nakamura, however, was unable to defend his title in 2018, losing the 66th Ōza title match 3 games to 2 to Shintarō Saitō.^[18]

Nakamura was elected a non-executive director of the JSA at its 76th General Meeting in June 2025.^[23]